Ken's Christmas
by Seth Turtle
Summary: A little story with Ken feeling down during Christmas because he has no loved ones to share the holidays with. When five former enemies catch wind of this, a little Christmas joy saves the day! [Completed] EDITTED for formatting and grammar errors.


-------------------  
December 23rd  
Ichijouji Residence  
-------------------

"Ken, honey? We're going to the store to get some candles. Would you like to come?" said Mrs. Ichijouji.

Ken looked up from his book with a sad expression. "_sigh_... No thanks mother. I'm sorry but I just don't feel like going. I think I'll be going to bed soon anyway." With that Ken returned to his book, leaving his mother with a frown much like his.

"...If you want Ken. We'll be back really soon."She opened the door to meet up with Mr. Ichijouji downstairs. Halfway out the door, she turned around and smiled to her son. "Merry Christmas Ken."

The boy looked at his mother and nodded. "You too." Mrs. Ichijouji nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her softly. Ken sighed and put the book down on the desk nearby.

_...I wish it was a Merry Christmas, but I don't have anything to be merry about_, thought the young man. _This year has been filled with so much pain - most of it caused by me as the Digimon Emporer. Even though I've changed for the better, everything else is still the same as it was for Digimon Emporer... a large, empty shell filled with just me and my thoughts..._

"Ken?" said a tiny voice from the young man's room. "Ken, are you alright?" The young man stood up and walked to where little Leafmon hid from the outside world.

"I'm okay Leafmon... just thinking about the past." The small green digimon hopped into Ken's open hands as the boy answered.

"Your Momma said something about 'Christmas'. What did she mean?" asked the digimon as Ken lay on his bed.

"Christmas is a holiday wherepeople buy presents for each other," answered Ken, staring at the ceiling in thought. "It's typically a very happy occasion."

"You don't look happy."Leafmon hopped onto Ken's pillow. "Is something wrong?"

Ken sighed deeply and continued to stare into nothingness as he thought of an answer. "I feel... empty. I know that I've found my heart... but that's not enough. My memories of the Digimon Emporer are still very real. I've spent so much time as him, causing so much pain... that I have nobody to be with this Christmas."

"Don't you have your family?" said Leafmon. "They love you a whole lot."

Ken shook his head. "That's not what I mean Leafmon. My parents will love me no matter what I do, or who I am. I'm their son."

"Then what do you mean?" Leafmon asked.

"The holidays are about spending time with those you love, not just your family."

Leafmon nodded as understanding dawned on him. "And you're afraid that nobody will want to be with you this Christmas."

Ken slowly nodded and sat up. His hair fell over his face as the boy layed his head in his hands. "Leafmon, I want to know that somebody out there loves me." Slowly, tears began to fall from Ken's eyes. Leafmon hopped to his friend's shoulder and rubbed his head against the boy's neck reassuringly. For much of the night, that was the only noise that could be heard from the room.

-------------------  
December 24th  
Downtown Odiaba  
-------------------

Ken strolled down the street, oblivious to the beautiful decorations that adorned every store and vehicle. People smiled to each other, saying holiday greetings of all kinds, and caring bundles of gifts as they went home to quickly wrap the gifts. Ken heard greetings directed at him occasionally, and those who recognized the boy genius and star soccer player asked for autographs, which Ken quietly performed. Girls would cheer as he came near, rushing at him like a mob and grabbing at his clothes. Ken would smile and offer them all holiday greetings of various kinds, but wouldn't stay for too long. He wasn't in the mood for fans. As Ken walked from a horde of girls that screamed "I love you Ken!!", as well as other phrases that probably shouldn't be mentioned, the boy's mind raced.

_They say that they "love me", but I know that none of them will be cheering my name on Christmas Eve._ Continuing down the street, a laugh caught Ken's attention. Squinting through the snow-filled air, the boy could see two very familiar faces.

"That boy who fought me...Takeru. And he's with that girl Kari..." he said to himself. Ken watched as the two looked through the window of a popular toy store . They each pointed at various objects, and talked (most likely about which ones were better for whoever). Every now and then they would laugh about a joke that one of them made, until finally they entered the store. Ken frowned and continued to walk down the street, but paused a second later. He turned towards the shop again as his curiousity got the best of him. Unable to resist, Ken crossed the street and entered the toy store.

The boy shook his coat to get rid of the snow that covered it, as well as stomped his shoes clean before entering the store. The store clerk nodded to Ken, who did the same. Slowly strolling around, Ken looked at various trinkets set up to impress the customers- little toy trains that ran on a circular track, little ballerina music boxes, and colorful remote control cars that little children raced back and forth on a track while their parents shopped for the gifts that would soon be under the Christmas tree. Ken scanned the store for his two subjects. Seeing them standing in the video game section, Ken carefully snuck closer to them, hiding behind a nearby aisle of antique kitchen items.

"What game is it that Davis was talking about?" Kari asked, looking through the hundreds of CD cases that lined the wall. "I don't keep up with these things."

"Some fighting game or something." TK looked along the wall, until his eyes fell upon the game that he was looking for. Pulling it off the shelf, TK checked the price tag. "Fifty bucks...man, Davis better like this," said the boy, causing Kari to laugh as they walked to the register.

"So we got something for Cody and Davis. Yolei's is the last gift we have to look for." TK and Kari headed for the door.

"Yolei has been ogling over a really cute sweater at the clothing shop," Kari said. "Let's go check it out." They turned the corner and walked into the falling snow.

Ken stepped out and watched as they left his field of vision. "They have so much to be happy about... especially after defeating me." Ken sagged and slowly walked out the store, looking up into the air as an idea entered his mind. "I wonder..."

--

Mrs. Ichijouji heard a knock at the door, and quickly got up to answer the door. "Probably another well wisher for Ken." Opening the door, a pile of presents with legs entered the room, saying a muffled greeting to the mother.

"Ken?" she gasped. Removing some of the load from Ken's arms, the woman looked at the snow-covered face and hair of her son. "What are you doing? What's all this for?"

"Mother, could you help me wrap these? I have to get these finished before Christmas Eve is over." Kendumped his pile of gifts on the couch.

"Who are all these for?" she asked, looking at some of the items he purchased. "And how did you pay for all this?"

"They're for some people I need to thank," Ken said mysteriously. "As for paying for them, I used all my allowance in the bank."

"What?!" his mother said increduously. "But I thought that was for your new computer?" she asked, pulling out some gift-wrapping tools.

Ken cut some colored wrapping paper. "The computer isn't as important as this is. Trust me Momma," hesmiled.

---------  
8:02 PM  
---------

Tai crunched on some popcorn while Kari lay on the floor, looking up at the Christmas special playing on TV. Mister and Mrs. Kamiya fixed some odds and ends on the Christmas tree while the kids enjoyed the movie.

"Come on and take a break guys," Tai said through a mouthful of popcorn. "This movie is good."

"Just a second son," Mr. Kamiya replied. A knock at the door interrupted their little conversation. "Tai, could you get that?" he said over his shoulder.

Tai groaned. "Sure." The teen walked over to the door, looking out through the peephole. Nobody was there. Tai opened the door as he said "Hello?" Looking around, he saw nobody there, but found a small, wrapped box on the ground with a tag. Suspiciously, Tai picked up the gift, shaking it around to try and hear if anything inside was ticking. The tag was labeled "To Kari", but nothing else was written on it. Tai brought the gift inside with him and closed the door behind him.

--

"A gift for me?" said Yoleias her brother tossed a beautifully wrapped box to her.

"Yeah, it was on the ground in front of the door. Nobody was there when I answered the door," he said.

"Hmm... I wonder where it came from." she mused, looking at the tag where her name was.

"Maybe it's from a 'secret admirer'," he teased as he walked back to his room.

--

"I don't know who it would be from," Cody said as his grandfather looked at the gift with him. "Do you think it's safe?"

Grandfather nodded. "Of course it is, my son. Look how beautifully wrapped it is? I'll bet it's a mantlepiece!"

"Mantlepiece?" the boy said. "How would you know that?"

The old man chuckled. "I've been shaking gifts for well over fifty years. I've developed a knack for it," he laughed. Cody smiled and placed the gift under the tree.

--

"Well, I guess I'll find out what it is on Christmas morning," TK said once the present was underneath the Christmas tree. The boy walked back to the couch while his mother quietly hummed a Christmas tune.

"Could it be from that girl you are with all the time?" Mrs. Takaishi teased.

TK's face turned a deep shade of red as he shook his head No. "Eh heh heh... I don't think it's from Kari. She'd sign it... and she wouldn't just leave it on the doorstep."

"Well, maybe some other girl dropped it off," his mother said, pulling out a hefty rolling pin to start making her hundredth batch of gingerbread cookies.

"Mom, would you stop with the secret admirer stuff. I'm not THAT popular." The mothergiggled in response.

"Okay, if you say so..." she said, smiling as she whipped out a gingerbread cutter.

--

"Oooh, I hope it's from Kari," Davis said. "Maybe she's shy and doesn't want me to know it's her."

Jun looked at him with a cock-eyed expression. "I think there's about a million-to-one chance of that being true." Davis growled and threw a pillow at her as she laughed.

"Are you sure it says 'Davis' on there? Maybe it's a gift to me from Matt!" Jun said dreamily. "Oh I hope he got me something that no other girl of his has ever had!"

"Now who's dreaming?" Davis said. Jun growled and lunged at Davis, who dived over the couch and dashed to safety, with Jun in hot pursuit.

-----------  
10:00 PM  
-----------

Ken trudged through the doorway, coughing furiously as the beginnings of a cold became apparent. Silently closing the door behind him, Ken removed his snow-covered jacket and shoes. The boy remembered that his parents were probably trying to sleep after such a long day of working on Christmas stuff, so he quietly made his way to his room, trying not to awake them.

Leafmon blinked as Ken trudged into the bedroom, looking like he sat in a freezer for an hour. He nearly fell on the bed, groaning as he removed his wet clothes in preparation for a well-earned rest.

"Ken, where have you been?" asked the little digimon.

Ken's head fell onto the pillowas a quiet cough left the boy's throat. "I had some things to drop off." Heleaned over to turn his lamp off.

"You mean all those gifts? Where'd you drop them off at?"

Ken sighed. "I left them at the Digidestineds' homes."

Leafmon blinked in surprise. "What? Why? What'd they say?"

Ken flicked the switch to the light and leaned back in his warm bed. "They don't know about it. Hopefully they never will. If they knew it was me, then they wouldn't want them. I... wanted to give them a peace offering, to make me feel better. Even if they never know about it, I'll know. And it'll make me happy."

Leafmon yawned along with Ken. "Ken... are you having a Merry Christmas yet?"

As Ken's eyes drifted into sleep, he softly answered. "Yes... now I'm not so empty anymore."

-------------------  
December 25th  
Christmas Morning  
-------------------

Kari smiled as she slowly put the beautiful little earrings that the mystery gift held. The earrings were made of real gold, which made Kari hesitant to wear them outside. But they were so beautiful...

The telephone outside rang, and Kari could hear her brother walking over to answer it. After some muffled responses, Kari heard Tai knock on her bedroom door.

"Kari, phone for you," Tai said, returning to his spot on the couch where he was trying to read the book that his mothergave him for Christmas. (Naturally, the book was a soccer superstar biography.)

"Thanks Tai." Kari picked up the phone. "Hello?"

_"Hi Kari,"_ said the voice on the other side.

"TK! How was your Christmas?"

_"It was the best, thanks to you. That autographed collector's jersey autographed was awesome! I didn't think you could afford something so rare!" _

"Uh... jersey?"

TK's surprise could practically be felt through the phone. _"Yeah. The jersey you left on my porch last night." _

"On your porch?" The phone buzzed in her ear. "Hold on TK, I've got another call." Shepushedthe Call Waitingbutton to put TK on hold. "Hello?"

_"Hi Kari!"_ Yolei said. _"I had to call to thank you for that awesome designer dress you bought for me. That..."_

"Dress?" Kari replied.

_"Yeah the dress... the one that costs like 3000 yen... the one on my doorstep last night, or all places?" _

Kari got a suspicious expression on her face. "Hold on a second Yolei, I'm going to call Davis." Sheput Yolei on hold amidst her protests and dialedDavis' number. After a few rings, a female voice answered. "Hello Jun, it's Kari. Could you get Davis for me? Thanks."

_"Kari?"_ answered a voice after several moments. _"Oh I wanted to..."_

"It wasn't my gift in front of your door last night." Kari interrupted. Groaning could be heard from the other side.

_"You mean you didn't get me that cool soccer game?!"_ cried Davis.

"Sorry, but it wasn't me. I think there's something weird going on. Could you call Cody for me, while I tell the others?"

_"Tell them what?"_ asked Davis.

"We're going to meet at my house, and try and find out what's going on."

-------------------  
Kamiya Residence  
-------------------

The five kids sat down in the living room, each holding the gift that was left on their doorsteps last night. The gifts all were so good that the others wondered who would give them such presents. TK's collector jersey... Yolei's designer dress... Kari's gold earrings... Davis' new video game... and Cody's crystal statuette of a dolphin (which he said reminded him of Submarimon).

"Did Tai and the others do this?" Yolei wondered out loud.

"I don't think Tai could spend so much money on somebody besides himself." Karilaughed. "Besides, why would he leave my gift on the porch?"

"To throw you off his trail?" said Davis.

"I don't think so," TK replied. "We would have been able to tell if they were up to something."

"Then who bought them? And why?" said Kari. "I mean... don't you think they'd at least want an'Arigatou godaimasu' for such expensive gifts?" The others couldn't reply.

"Maybe it's Santa Claus?" said Davis. The others sweatdropped and fell off the couch in unison.

-------------------  
Ichijouji Residence  
-------------------

Leafmon looked at the wrapped gift that Ken placed on the bed where the little digimon was resting. Looking at the green and white wrapping, and the frilly red bow adorning the gift, Leafmon looked up at Ken. "What's this Ken?"

Ken nodded. "It's for you."

"What? Who would give me a... oh, Ken, why'd you do this?!"The little digimonapproached the gift.

"If anyone deserves a gift, it's you. I have to apologize to you most of all, for everything I've done."Ken smiled and petted Leafmon, who tried to hold back his little tears.

"Ken, I can't..."

"Please?" Ken insisted. "For me?"

Leafmon sighed. Looking down at his armless body, he laughed. "Um... a little help, please?"

Ken laughed as well and tore open the present for him. Opening the box, Ken pulled out a tape set titled "Dracoball T: Kettle Saga". Leafmon's eyes shot wide and he practically leaped at the bundle of tapes. "I don't believe it!" cried the little digmon. "How'd you know this was my favorite anime?!"

Ken chuckled. "I'm a genius, remember?" he answered. "Do you like the gift?"

Leafmon rolled on his back and looked up at Ken. "So long as you gave it to me, it's the best gift ever."

Ken felt a wave of emotion wash over him. Wiping away a little tear from his eye, the boy nodded to Leafmon. "Thank you... Leafmon. You don't know how much that means to me."

Leafmon leaped onto Ken's shoulder. "So what'd you get for Christmas, Ken?"

Ken sighed. "Not what I wanted," he said.

Leafmon looked over at the pile of gifts that he had carried into his bedroom after the initial unwrapping was done. The digimon could see various video games, clothes, computer CD's, and other expensive trinkets. "But Ken... what about all those gifts? You mean you didn't want any of those?"

Ken looked down at Leafmon. "As the Digimon Emporer, I had power and servants at my fingertips. Anything that I wanted, I took or made. I had everything. Even then, I got money from all the corporations I did commercials for, all the sponsors, and all my fans."

Leafmon was confused. "But... if you have all that, why aren't you happy?"

"Happiness doesn't come from the store, Leafmon. If you got me ANY gift, I'd love it more than all those others put together, because I know that you have put your heart and soul into it... because you love me."

Leafmon frowned at Ken's depressed expression. "Then... the more love you get... the happier you are on Christmas?" asked the confused digimon.

Ken nodded slowly. "...That's Christmas in a nutshell. The holiday where you make others happy, as a sign of how much you love them."

Leafmon blinked as he began to cry. Ken's gift now meant more to him than ever... and Leafmon realized that this is why Ken was so sad. His Christmas was without love. Leafmon leaped to the nearby desk and looked at Ken eye-to-eye. "Ken, I promise that I will make this the happiest Christmas ever for you!"

Ken stood up and headed towards the door. "I'm glad you want me to be happy, Leafmon. But Christmas is going to be over soon." Ken turned to the little digimon. "Thanks for thinking of me. And Merry Christmas to you." He returned to the living room to get ready for his daily walk.

As the door shut behind him, Leafmon's small round face grew more determined than ever. "I will keep my promise Ken." The little digimon turned towards the computer, and an idea crossed his mind. "And I think I know just how to do it!"

-------------------  
Kamiya Residence  
-------------------

Kari frowned as she held the golden earrings in her hand. Never had she gotten such a beautiful gift, but not knowing why... or from who, made Kari sad. The girl wanted to thank the person who did this for her. But without a way to find out who it was, all she could do was pray that the mystery person would have a happy holiday.

The phone ringed again, and Kari stood to answer it. She picked up the phone and spoke into the reciever. "Hello?"

_"Hey Kari," answered a familiar voice. _

"Hi Yolei, what's up?"

_"Did you check your e-mail yet? There's something weird in there that's addressed to all five of us." _

"What do you mean?"

_"You'll see."_

"Okay, just a second."Kariwent to the computer to pull up her e-mail. Checking her inbox, Kari indeed found a weird message.

_Digidestined,  
__Please come to the Digital World where the Digimon Emporer's base crashed. It's important!  
__A friend. _

Karireturned to the phone. "Wow, that is weird."

_So you coming?_

Kari thought for a moment. "Normally I'd say we shouldn't, but there's something that tells me that this message is harmless."

_"What makes you think that?" _

"Because no bad guy would expect us to blindly walk into the Digital World just because of an e-mail," Kari answered.

Yolei laughed. _"Well, I guess that makes sense." _

"Okay, we'll all meet at theschool then."

_"See ya!"_ Yolei finished andhung up the phone. Kari did the same and quickly rushed out the door.

------------------------------  
The Digimon Emporer's Base  
------------------------------

The five Digidestined, along with their digimon, walked slowly into the remains of the once impressive and formidable base of the Digimon Emporer. All that remained of the once powerful fortress were tons of metallic rubble and supplies that various digimon had scavenged.

"What a place for 'a friend' to meet," Davis said sarcastically.

"This place still gives me the creeps," Armadillomon said. "Just remembering all those goons we had to fight here gives me chills."

"So where's this guy we're meeting?" Veemon asked while picking his ear.

"Don't ask me."

"I'm so glad you came," said a voice from the shadows.

"It's Wormmon!!" The entire partyshouted.Wormmon stepped out of the shadows, looking back and forth at their surprised expressions.

"We... we... we saw you die!" Yolei said, getting behind Hawkmon.

"I got better," said the green digimon matter-of-factly. The heroes promptly facevaulted into the sand. "But that's not the reason I asked you here."

"Then what do you want?" Patomon asked. "And where's Ken?"

Wormmon sighed. "I came here because I want Ken to have a Merry Christmas."

"What?" they gasped in unison.

Yolei harumphed in open disrespect. "Why call us? We're probably the last people that want to wish him a Merry Christmas!"

"Yolei!" Kari yelled. "That's not nice."

Wormmon cleared his throat. "I know you've had your differences with him as the Digimon Emporer, but that's in the past."

"'Differences'? That's the understatement of the year..." said TK. Cody nodded silently in agreement.

Kari glared at the boy, then turned back to Wormmon. "We know that Ken has changed, but we still don't feel comfortable with him. Sorry, but I don't think we can help you."

Wormmon looked at Kari's ears. "What happened to the gold earrings he got you?"

"What?!" exclaimed Kari. "What do you mean?!"

"KEN bought us those gifts?!" yelled TK.

"He got me that dress?!" yelled Yolei.

"...and my game?!" yelled Davis.

Wormmon nodded. "Yes...and the jersey and the dolphin statue. Ken used the last of his savings to buy them for you, then spent much of Christmas Eve trudging through the snow to each of your homes to secretly drop off each gift."

"...But why?" Kari asked.

Wormmon frowned. "Because he wanted to apologize to you all, but didn't know how." The kids' faces showed their surprise at hearing Wormmon's words. "He knew that none of you wanted to speak to him,or even look at him, so he gave you the gifts secretly, and without telling you they were his."

"All his savings?" Davis muttered.

"To apologize..." Yolei added. The group felt bad for saying what they did just now, and regretted the thoughts that raged from their memories. They never thought that their worst enemy would be so kind.

Wormmon continued. "Ken is so depressed. I want him to know the happiness that he brought each of you... and me. So please, I'm begging you. Help me make Ken's Christmas the happiest he's ever had."

The kids looked at each other, and although none of them said anything, they all knew what the answer was.

Davis smiled and asked, "What'd you have in mind?"

-------------------  
Late that Evening  
Ichijouji Residence  
-------------------

Ken watched as the Christmas lights on the apartments nearby flickered in the night. The white snow reflected the light show, making the image even more stunning. Normally, this would be a nice way to end Christmas day... but to Ken, it was just another reminder of the love and happiness that others were sharing... that he was missing.

Leafmon hopped onto the window sill, looking at Ken's face, and feeling the sadness in his eyes as if it were his own. "Ken, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy your Christmas."

Ken smiled down at Leafmon. "Don't worry Leafmon. I'll be okay."The boy drew the shades closed. "Besides, at least I was able to make others happy this year." Ken lay back as he thought about the gifts that he had bought the Digidestined. "I wonder if they liked the gifts."

"I'm sure they did. Nobody could have given them better gifts." Leafmon said, glancing up at the clock on Ken's wall as it struck seven. "Oh, um... Ken, do you hear something?"

Ken sat up and looked at Leafmon confusedly. "Huh? I don't hear anything."

Leafmon smiled despite his attempts to hide his fiendish cleverness. "Are you sure?"

Ken was about to say no again, but something did catch his ear. A soft, serene sound floated into the air. The boy could here something outside. Something like... singing?

"What is that?" Ken said, putting on his jacket and walking quickly to the front door, with Leafmon right behind him. The boy ran down the stairway until he was out the front door, where the beautiful song could be clearly heard...

_The first Noel, the angel did say...  
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;  
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,  
on a cold winter's night that was so deep... _

"What's going on here?!" Ken said as he saw the carolers through the snowy air. Standing in a row before his home were five kids... five familiar kids.

Leafmon hopped onto Ken's shoulder. "And you thought you were the only evil genius around!" Kari, TK, Cody, Davis, and Yolei continued to sing softly.

_Noel, Noel... Noel, Noel.  
Born is the King of Israel. _

"I... I don't understand," Ken said, looking at their smiling faces.

"We just wanted to thank you Ken," Kari said sweetly. "For showing us how much you've changed."

Ken was speechless. "But how? When did you-" Leafmon started to whistle innocently, and Ken started to laugh at the little digimon.

"Look Ken, we know you've been through a lot." Davis spoke up. "And that we may not be able to trust each other for a long time."

"But we know that Christmas is a time to be happy," TK finished. "So whatever is in the past, stays in the past. Today, you're a kid just like us."

"And you deserve to be happy, just like you made us," Yolei added. "So we decided that rather than try to be flashy, we'd sing a carol, just for you, and you alone."

Ken's knees weakened, forcing him to sit on the steps in front of his house. Tears could be seen under his purple hair that covered his face as he looked at the ground. Finally, he looked up and softly replied.

"...Thank you. I've never been given a better gift."

"Then from all of us to you Ken, Merry Christmas," said Cody. The Digidestined walked to where the boy sat, and offered there wishes. The guys shook his hand, and the girls gave him a kiss on the cheek. After the well wishes, they all again stood before him, and continued their song. Ken's song.

_They looked up and saw a star  
Shining in the east beyond them far,  
And to the earth it gave great light,  
And so it continued both day and night. _

_Noel, Noel... Noel, Noel.  
Born is the King of Israel. _

"Merry Christmas, Ken," Leafmon saidfrom the boy's side.

Ken wiped his tears away and patted Leafmon affectionately. "Merry Christmas, Leafmon." Turning to the singing children, hebasked in the joy he felt. "Merry Christmas."


End file.
